The CD player is dead.......

" For these people (who download mp3s), clearly convenience trumps quality"

Not true. The quality of mp3s is often quite good for the types of music that most people listen to even on a good system. I would be challenged to distinguish mp3 from higher resolution formats with most of the pop/rock type songs that I do elect to download. For tehse, it makes me wonder why pay more and suffer greater inconvenience for no reason. They also happen to be most convenient and more usable overall.

Its not the best, but does represent a reasonable compromise between file size and absolute sound quality. There are a lot of benefits both in terms of cost and utility with smaller file sizes when suited.

I would not recommend mp3 for classical music in general but I cannot say that I have even tried it for that so I really have no experience to base a judgement on, though it would not surprise me to hear differences there.

Fact is I have a couple dozen mp3 files I have downloaded and listened to critically and despite the usual variations in recording quality found with any format, I cannot honestly say I have heard a deficiency that I can clearly associate with the format yet, though I know these exist technically. The question is can I hear them? Don't know the answer to that yet.....

Lloydc wrote:

I am puzzled by claims that data from a hard drive equals data read from a great cd transport. Data has to get onto that HD in the first place.

Huh?

Doesn't data have to "get onto the CD in the first place" also? If not, where does it come from?

Take a trip through a recording studio and with very, very few exceptions you will see all of the music played is being recorded to a hard drive. If hard drives are the fatal flaw, then CDs inherit that fault.

If you listen to a playback in a recording studio, they are going to stream it from a hard drive, not a CD. The CD, by itself, cannot make that recording any better than what was on the studio's hard drive.

I've heard stunning music from systems with open reel, turntables, CDs and hard drives as the source. Implementation is the key (and money doesn't guarantee the door is unlocked.)

I like CDs and still buy them. It's still a great way to add music to my server based system. Their overall sales volume is down from several years ago but CDs will still be around for quite a while.

Ultimately this whole subject is once again about personal preferences. It is inevitable that opinions will vary widely, but just don't forget the parents of the music on that CD almost certainly include a hard drive. ;-)

" I wasn't out to bash anyone. I WAS SIMPLY ASKING SOMEONE TO EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS OF A CDP"

That's not how I read your original post, which contained the following disparaging remark:

"People still embracing cd players are the "comb over" equivalent of bald men. They're trying to hold on to something that isn't there and they know will ultimately vanish one day."

I really thought you were out to bash!
-Bob

I was a couple of martinis in when I wrote that last part.